SpiceJet delays salaries for senior staff, junior employees get paid on time: Report

Budget airline SpiceJet has delayed salaries for a sizable section of its employees over recent months, a source told PTI.While workers earning up to Rs 55,000 per month have received their August salaries, senior staff — largely at Assistant Manager level and above — are waiting for their payments, the source added.“SpiceJet has once again started delaying salary payments to its staff. While employees drawing up to Rs 55,000 per month are getting payments on time, the rest of the staff, mostly Assistant Managers and above level, are getting payments with a delay of 10–15 days,” the source told PTI.SpiceJet did not respond to PTI queries on the matter.According to its FY25 annual report, the Gurugram-based airline employed 6,484 people, including 4,894 permanent staff. The report also disclosed that during 2024–25, the company extended an interest-free advance of Rs 32 crore to its Chairman and Managing Director Ajay Singh for five years, in line with board-approved policy. The advance, it added, was later adjusted against Singh’s April and May 2025 salary and “is not prejudicial to the interest of the company.”The carrier posted a Rs 238-crore net loss in the June quarter. As of September 13, only 18 of its 53 aircraft were operational, according to fleet tracking website Planespotter.com.This figure is unchanged from July last year when SpiceJet had 18 operational aircraft and 38 grounded planes out of a fleet of 56. Despite this, the airline has announced expansion plans three times in the past year, each time promising to add at least 10 planes.In September last year, while raising Rs 3,000 crore via a qualified institutional placement (QIP), the airline said the fresh capital would be used to revive grounded aircraft, acquire new planes, invest in technology, and expand into new markets.